Have I Gone Mad?
by Rosebud5
Summary: A two-shot based off my favorite scene from the 2010 "Alice in Wonderland." Tarrant is locked up in the Red Queen's palace making hats for her to save his life and Alice comes to visit him. But when he goes mad, what will happen? He can't lose her now...
1. Hatter

Hello, friends! Es moi!! Hehe...Okay, so I loved writing my _Alice in Wonderland, 2010 _fics _The Raven and the Writing Desk _and _The Raven and the Writing Desk Pt. II _so I decided to write another AliceXHatter fic for you all! This one is based off my absolute favorite scene in the movie: The one in the Red Queen's palace where the Hatter is chained up making hats for the Bloody Big Head and Alice comes to visit him and he goes mad... My absolute, number one, most favorite scene...^^ Anyway, this is a two-shot...Part one is the scene through the Hatter's POV and part two is Alice's POV. Please, please R&R!!! After all, Tarrant is on my side. :)

Disclaimer: You would have to be half-mad to think I own any of these wonderful characters or the movie or the scene this story is based off of... But I do wish I could own the Hatter...that would make me happy... Haha

~Rosebud5

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**Have I Gone Mad?**

**Hatter**

_Ttttrrrrrmmm…_ The steady hum of the sewing machine soothes me. Calms my mind. It is nice to be making hats again. I try to forget who I'm making them for. I try to forget I'm chained up in the bloody Big Head's palace. I try to forget my neck is on the line. I try to forget everything except the process of making hats. The steady, sane process. Not insanity. Not madness. Needle, thread, and turn the fabric…Sanity.

Suddenly, I'm aware of the door opening. I look up quickly, and feel my heart race faster. Alice. She's at least seven feet tall now…Why is she always changing? No, no, don't think. Sew. Steady. Keep your sanity. Especially around my Alice.

I feel her come up behind me. I have to smile. Her hair falls right beside my shoulder as she towers behind me. "They're beautiful," she whispers. "You must let me try one on."

"It is nice to be back in the old trade again," I smile, concentrating on the fabric. I don't want her to put one on. These hats aren't worthy for Alice… _The_ Alice…No, don't think. Don't go mad. Not in front of her.

"If only you didn't have to make them for her," Alice mutters, and I feel her looking at me.

_The bloody Red Queen…I'm hatting the enemy…_

"What's a hatter worth…?" I feel myself whisper. "Hatter…hatter…"

_Tarrant, don't lose it now. Don't ruin this…_

**Crash!** Did I do that? Yes, I did. I'm running…_Get me out! It's so crowded! I'm trapped in here! I can't escape..._

I'm going mad, blast it! Not now...Yes, now! Must...ESCAPE!!! Those chains around my ankle...Get them _off_! Jabberwocky...It's coming...It took my family. It can take me. And I can't _escape_!

"Hatter!" I vaguely hear Alice shout my name. I feel her hands grab my arm and turn my around. And then her hands cup my face.

_Affection._

This is something I haven't felt in a while. My insanity drops, and I'm face to face with this towering Alice. She looks so worried for me. Worried? For me? I must say something to calm her...

_Nothing insane, Tarrant..._

"Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?"

_Blast._

Alice bites her lip, her thumb gently stroking my cheek. I feel so small in her hands...Tiny, actually. Mally must feel like this in my hands...Tiny and vulnerable. I must remember that.

"I'm frightened, Alice," I find myself admitting. "I don't like it in here. It's terribly crowded." I swallow and look up at her, fear filling me. I know the answer, but I'm afraid I'll turn her away by my asking this. "Have I gone mad?" It comes out in a whisper.

Gently, Alice puts a hand on my forehead. I stand nervously, waiting the verdict. I like the feeling of her hands on my face. I feel...safe. Safe in this fire pit of a prision.

Suddenly Alice takes her hand off my forehead and puts it back on the side of my face. "I'm afraid so," she whispers. My heart sinks. "You're entierly bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." And she smiles.

I have to smile back. _All the best people are_... I'll have to keep that one tucked away forever.

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Well? Hope you liked it and maybe even awwed once. :) And now onto Alice's POV!! :)


	2. Alice

Okay here's Alice's POV! Enjoy!

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**Alice**

I must say this is all very curious. This palace teems with evil and curelity, yet there's hearts everywhere. Cold hearts, I suppose. I hate thinking of my Hatter trapped in here somewhere. His warmth doesn't belong in this cold place.

It's odd to think I'm no longer Alice. Oh, I suppose I am...But I'm wearing a rather uncomfortable dress made of curtains, I'm seven feet tall, and everyone here thinks my name to be Umm. The only thread of normaily is the Hatter's hat in my large hands. And even that isn't normal. It seems so small...Everything seems so small...Just like everything seemed huge in the Tugely Forest.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of a sewing machine coming from one of the rooms with a closed door. I smile. _Tarrant._

I turn the tiny door knob and step into the room. I smile again. My Hatter is standing at a table full of beautiful hats, concentrated hard on his work. He looks so small...And so vulnerable without his hat. As if his hat gives him _his_ muchness. I quietly go over to him, setting his hat aside for the proper moment to give it to him. I lean behind him, feeling so huge next to him. Oh, the hats he made are so wonderful. How can he make such perfect things?

"They're beautiful," I whisper. "You must let me try one on." _My head's certainly big enough currently. _

"It is nice to be back in the old trade again," he smiles. His smile makes me smile too. How curious.

"If only you wern't having to make them for her," I mumble sadly. The poor man. He hates the Red Queen so much. And he's making hats for her to save his life.

Suddenly, I see Tarrant's face glaze over. His green eyes twist golden, his smile dropping. "What's a hatter worth?" he whispers in a slight Scottish accent.

I have to gasp. What's a hatter worth?_ You're worth everything!_

"Hatter...hatter..." he mutters. Suddenly, he springs to his feet, knocking over a hat stand. I jump a little, my heart speeding.

_He's going mad._

He tries to run, but the chain around his ankle causes him to be stuck. _He looks so afraid._

The poor Hatter..._My_ poor Hatter... He wants to escape.

_Just like I wanted to escape the real world just a few days ago._

Pity fills me and I grab his arm and turn him around, taking his face in my hands without thinking. His eyes fade from red-gold to green, and his face shows true mortification. I want to hug him and comfort him, but he inturrupts my thoughts with a shaky whisper.

"Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?"

_He is so mad. Why does he make my heart flutter so?_

"I'm frightened, Alice." This confession pulls a new lever in me, and I want to comfort him anyway I can. He seems so small now, his face tiny in my hands. "I don't like it in here. It's terribly crowded." He pauses, my thumb stroking his cheek absently. "Have I gone mad?" Fear shows on his face, and he swallows.

That one question pulls me back to my childhood. Me laying in bed, fearing the answer, asking my father the same question Hatter is now asking me. Now I am the adult, and Tarrant is the frightened child. I do what my father did to me: I gently put a hand on Tarrant's forehead. There is no fever, only a mild warmness I suppose always comes with madness. I return my hand to his cheek, smiling gently. "I'm afraid so. You're completly bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."

He smiles. I smile back.

And for one moment, this doesn't even seem like a dream.

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Well? I hope you all liked this! HatterXAlice forever I say...This scene just made my day...nay, week...nay, year...nay LIFE when I first saw it! :)

Thanks so much for reading...Just one last favor...**PLEASE REVIEW!!! **Me likeses reviewses...Hehe ;}

~Rosebud5


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